For the ATTN of those Elford Bashers

[CULLUS.ONLINE]

I for one belive Elford to be a great buy! I have said that since day one. I have admired his courage and comittment in every game.

But some people say his defence is bad. Thats not true. Ive been watching him all year and he has been doing his job in defence.

Sure, he stuffs up a little.... but so does everyone.
His attack is outstanding.

But the thing that i want the bashers to see is these stats form this weeks game:

Shane Elford:
18 Tackles (most tackles by a back besides wilson)
3 Try assists
1 Line break (leading intercepter)
10 hitups
130 meters gained
2 Dummy Half runs
1 error
0 miss-tackles

For me, thats a great effort by him.

He would be in my line up any day!

 

[Gobbso]

That was his best game for Wests, no doubt. He was in everything. I've payed close attention to him since his debut for the Tigers in Round 1, and he's improved every week.

 

[Eddie.]

An outstanding buy, being 6'2 and 100kg adds that potency and strengh we have been craving in the backline for years.

he is starting to get some decent ball now!! and when his mind is on the job he is a handful and a dominant player.

Geez add the even bigger and faster Richards ( like the others though will take a while to get his confidence back) on the wing to the outstanding Hodgo and Moodie, and the strengh and hard running of Halatau and Elford, Prince 5/8 Kerr at half and i will be totally f!cken excited.

 

[Suzie]

I thought that Elford was a great buy, too Cullus, and I still do. I think he's becoming an assett to the team, and he's been there consistently since round 1, so obviously the coaches have faith in him. Can't wait to see the backline include a fit Richards, but I don't want to take ANYTHING from the guys that have got us to 6th place on the ladder, with 7 wins, a record equalling thrashing, and only really 1 crap loss all season...like others have said - how hard it is dealing with depth ;-)

 

[SouthernTiger]

Elford had a top game and in no way should he be dropped. However, I still have a question over some of his decisions in defense. I havent seen it lately but earlier in the season e was getting caught out of position quite regularly in defense

cheers

s. tiger

 

[Suzie]

so, he seems to have improved and is gelling with his new team? Its all good 8)

 

[Sincas]

he came here with a reputation as a defensive centre and i haven't seen too much to disagree with that assessment by Sheens. I'd say he has cemented that centre position.

 

[Tigerpete]

exactly mate! I think any criticism of him is pretty harsh, like you said before, he makes mistakes but so does everyone else. Without him in our side we will've lost a few more games than we've have so far too.

 

[Snide the Tiger]

He's had bad games with his hands - and consistency has been a problem!

But he was excellent on sunday - and has had similar games against Parramatta and the Bulldogs!

I've never called for his axing - but for greater involvement and commitment from the big fella - and after an average performance against Melbourne - he stood up and dominated this week!!

I hope he can continue against his illustrious counterparts at Sainst this week!

 

[SouthernTiger]

No he didnt he came here witha reputation of being woeful in defense which is why I have kept an eye on his defense. This was the same reason willie tonga and joe williams werent making first grade, they all have a reputation as woeful defenders. Chris Hicks is another

cheers

s. tiger

 

[B_Tiger]

I agree with southerntiger, Elford is a good player that has serious flaws in his game. In general he is a good performer and a very good runner. But, his hands are always a worry and his defensive awareness is poor. It's not to say that he can't tackle, because he has a reasonably good technique. But, he often is badly out of position and definately can improve his positioning.

 

[SouthernTiger]

B_Tiger said exactly my thoughts. Elford is always going to make the strong tackles because he is a big boy but there has been plenty of times this year when he has badly read plays and O'Neill or Sattler has been forced to cover for him. It is the same with Marshall, the boy can tackle, but his inexperience means he gets caught out. Talking about defensive technique how is Liam Fultons. I havent seen anything like it since Michael Speechley (the best tackler Ive ever seen). He just drives straight into their guts

cheers

s. tiger

 

[HappyTiger]

and his defensive awareness is poor. It's not to say that he can't tackle, because he has a reasonably good technique. But, he often is badly out of position and definately can improve his positioning.

I dont disagree with all you say but Elford must be reading the defense reasonably well.He leads the NRL in Intercepts taken.

 

[SouthernTiger]

thats par of his problem happy he gets caught in no mans land. When he takes them its great but when he misses them well we are in big trouble

cheers

s. tiger